Watch Houses   

News
Queensland government to pull funding from Murri Watch's vital Indigenous youth justice service
Murri Watch's support service for Indigenous children held in Queensland police...
Giovanni Torre 14 Apr 2026
Queensland systems failing vulnerable young people in child protection, youth justice
Systems across Queensland are continuing to fail vulnerable children, the state'...
Dechlan Brennan 19 Mar 2026
Aboriginal woman who died in Northern Territory watch house identified
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised the following...
Dechlan Brennan 6 Jan 2026
Justice systems failing First Nations people, UN body says
"Unreasonable and oppressive" conditions in Northern Territory watch houses, a d...
Dechlan Brennan 17 Dec 2025
Ombudsman finds inmates in ‘inhumane’ NT watch houses need to be removed as a matter of urgency
All inmates currently held in Northern Territory watch houses should be removed...
Dechlan Brennan 1 Dec 2025
Exclusive: Human rights of Queensland children 'decimated' by successive governments

This is the second part of National Indigenous Times' analysis on human rights in Queensland. Part one can be found here. The human rights of young people in Queensland have been "decimated" in recent...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Oct 9, 2025
Analysis: Queensland’s human rights crisis — politics, punishment and the impact on Indigenous children

When Queensland's Attorney-General, Deb Frecklington, told a meeting of attorneys-general in August that the LNP government "won't be changing anything" when it comes to incarcerating children —...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Oct 8, 2025
Almost 400 Indigenous children held in NT's notorious watch houses in just six months

Almost 400 Indigenous children have been held in the Northern Territory's police watch houses across just six months, the ABC has revealed. The national broadcaster's exclusive also found that how lon...

Giovanni Torre Giovanni Torre Jul 28, 2025
Kids being kept in Queensland cells with adults for weeks

Some incarcerated children are spending weeks alongside adults in a cell with a cold concrete bench, no natural light or fresh air and no privacy when using the bathroom.

S
Savannah Meacham Feb 17, 2025
50% increase in children under 14 being housed in Queensland adult watch houses

The number of children aged 13 or under being housed in Queensland watch houses has increased 50 per cent in the past 12 months. The statistics form part of a report tabled by the Office of the Public...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Jan 8, 2025
New laws in Queensland will bring "devastating harms" to First Nations communities, peak Indigenous legal body says

The peak body for Indigenous legal services has become the latest to criticise proposed new laws impacting children in Queensland, arguing they will inflict "devastating harms" on First Nations commun...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Dec 3, 2024
Children held in 'inadequate' watch houses for weeks

The detention of children in watch houses for extended periods, with unaddressed medical or mental health risks, could have "catastrophic consequences", a report has found.

Queensland has a "love affair" with incarcerating children, advocates say as watch house review announced

Children should never be held in adult watch houses according to a leading abolitionist group, as the Queensland Police Commissioner undertakes a broad-ranging review into the facilities.

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Aug 7, 2024
‘Abominable’ treatment of children in watch houses triggers Queensland police review

Queensland watch houses have "end-to-end systemic issues" and are "under significant pressure", according to the state's police commissioner.

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Aug 6, 2024
Advocates call for an end to children being kept in adult watch houses after latest shocking footage

The fall out into revelations a First Nations 17-year-old was struck with a baton by police at the Richlands watch house in Brisbane have continued to reverberate, with police behaviour being explicit...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Jul 10, 2024
Govt under fire with kids 'suffering' in watch houses

Stories have surfaced of children being sexually abused while others tell of kids being deprived of food or kept in solitary confinement. Advocates are now adamant that children in Queensland's adult...

L
Laine Clark May 6, 2024
Legal action looms over children allegedly assaulted in police watch houses

A youth advocacy group is considering legal action after accusing the Queensland government of failing to protect children in watch houses. The government has been told it must take urgent action amid...

F
Fraser Barton Apr 29, 2024
Family circumstances see children denied bail, report reveals

A disturbing lack of accountability and transparency around a fragmented youth justice system are just some of the findings in a report into the use of watch houses by the Queensland Family and Child...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Dec 13, 2023
Load More
@natindigtimes
Article Audio

Disclaimer: This function is AI-generated and therefore may mispronounce.

National Indigenous Times

Disclaimer: This function is AI-generated and therefore may mispronounce.